They say you can see two thousand stars with the naked eye on a clear night. And when you look up the heavens on one of Botswana’s inky dark evenings, you’ll probably agree. Free of light pollution and with cloud cover mostly absent throughout the year, Botswana has some of the starriest night skies you’ll ever see, a cosmic landscape punctuated by the sounds of Africa’s nocturnal characters – the ghostly howl of the jackal, the booming roar of a lion.
Which raises the most obvious question: how does one sleep out under the stars in Botswana and not get eaten? There are many mobile safari operators of course, offering multi-day camping itineraries but at night they put you under firmly-zipped canvas rather than the stars. And not everyone who wants to stargaze also wants to spend two weeks camping.
The answer however, is easy: Botswana sleepouts are designed to complement your stay at a safari lodge, and are booked as part of your safari itinerary – just like an extra activity to your scheduled drives and boat trips. Offered in the dry season only, sleepouts are best described as an open sided, roofless luxury bedroom set on a raised wooden platform some distance from the main camp, but there are also options to sleep on the ground in bedrolls, just like the old days. And there will always be a bathroom.
As for dealing with nocturnal animals, all sleepout options are managed and overseen by a professional guide who has perfected the art of being there when needed, and out of sight when not. He or she will provide both service and security throughout the night – there is always the option for you to leave! Here’s where to go:
LAND OF HORIZONS: THE MAKGADIKGADI PANS
Covering thousands of square miles of the Kalahari lie a pair of old, sunken lake beds. Summer rains may fill them and attract flamingos but for most of the year they are bone-dry, bleached white by a relentless sun and virtually sterile.
It appears to be a binary land: white earth, blue sky. Watch the sun go down however and a transformation takes place. Your eyes are drawn upwards as hundreds of stars rush to fill the once empty sky. Wood smoke catches your attention as dinner is prepared, and there are cold drinks next to your luxurious bed rolls, each as thick as your mattress back home.
The sheer size of the Makgadikgadi emptiness means you have nothing to fear when sleeping on the ground: no large animal ventures this far onto the pans – but you’ll always have the back up of a camp crew located nearby. Use this opportunity to appreciate what the local Khoisan (Bushmen) community have lived under for thousands of years, and join them on an informative bushwalk after a cooked breakfast in the morning.
DESERT DREAMING – THE KALAHARI
The Kalahari is certainly sandy but you probably didn’t expect this much vegetation – or wildlife. Botswana’s Kalahari landscape is far removed from silent sand dunes and palm trees: this is a desert of grassland and woodlands, thorn thickets and ephemeral rivers. It is where you may see cheetah and wild dogs as well as lion and leopard, and a range of desert animals that you rarely find elsewhere in the country – springbok, the mighty eland and the handsome, rapier-horned gemsbok antelope.
Given the density of wildlife, there’s no sleeping on the ground in the Kalahari: sleepouts use the safety of raised wooden platforms, giving you unique views of wildlife passing below during the day, and unfettered views of the night sky as you sit down to dinner at your table for two.
BOTSWANA-MAX: THE OKAVANGO DELTA
There’s a reason why Botswana’s Okavango Delta is so famous: it’s so good. A vast tapestry of rivers, lakes and lagoons surrounded by grasslands and forest, it is a natural Eden for wildlife and teems with animals from reedbed to treetop. There are a couple of sleepout options available – both raised wooden platforms with double beds covered by a mosquito net and with a convenient bathroom.
The stars are no less spectacular from the covered platform but it’s here that you will really immerse yourself in the African night. The Okavango Delta is busy after the sun goes down: frogs, bats and bush-babies, hippos and hyenas – and their calls and movements will form part of the soundtrack to your night.
THE LOUVRE OF THE DESERT: THE TSODILO HILLS
Lying a short flight from the Delta, a sudden eruption of rocky hills breaks the flat landscape. The extraordinary Tsodilo Hills sit at the heart of Botswana’s ancient Khoisan culture and their collection of rock paintings has made them a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Uniquely created by finger-painting (instead of brushes), thousands of earthy images portray both animals and humans as well as geometric patterns.
Fly in and spend a night at the hills and learn about their cultural significance with walks and talks with local guides. Accommodation is in a covered eco-pod – this is still big game country – but the night sky lies just outside.
